For Love of Cauliflower

So, I'm back on the Atkins bandwagon after having a carb-o-liscious holiday season. I only gained 5 pounds which is commendable, and I'm sure it'll shed quickly.

In my efforts to eat Atkins friendly but still get that carby satisfaction, I'm experimenting with cauliflower. The key seems to be chopping it up finely, then cooking it in a pan with no oil to dry it out. Then you can use it to replace rice or shredded potato. I've found recipes for "pizza" bites, tater tots, "fried" (baked) cauliflower (using coconut flour), and a sweet bbq roasted cauliflower. NOM.

I really need to get some in the garden this year - and not kill it. Last year I planted it as a fall crop, but it was too hot to germinate. Perhaps as a spring crop I'll have better luck.

Framing Pretty Things

I have a nice little collection of pretty pins that have been given to me that belonged to women in my family. I love to look at them, but I never wear pins. So I wrapped black velvet around the glass in a few pretty picture frames and mounted the pins in the middle. I have one silver hand mirror that is an heirloom, and another that I picked up at an estate sale. I added that to the mix and hung it all up with a whole bunch of tiny finishing nails. Pretty, isn't it?

The Winter Garden

before

No, I'm not talking about cold frames. I'm talking about container gardening with my houseplants. Sometimes I just need to get some dirt under my fingernails. So - I repotted my peace lily and potted some pothos ivy cuttings. I ran out of pots... out came the old colanders, the tea tins, and one cookie tin. The peace lily alone split into 7, and could have done more but I had no more containers. They like being a bit root bound, so I'm not concerned. I warned my boss that I'd be bringing in some plants from home, I don't know if she (or I) realized just how many!

check out that root ball!

during

after!

Friday Flashback

• Secret Agent Mom and Other Nicknames
• Breakfast Hash in the Crock Pot (Mostly)
• Beautiful Food
• All Joking Aside...
• Frugal Luxuries: Cleaning Carpets
• The Sniffles and Coughs
• Cool Recycled Envelope
• I'm Dreaming of a White... Thanksgiving?
• Cinnamon Sugar Muffins
• It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Thrift-Mas...

Water Pressure = Bliss

Apparently the bad water pressure in the shower was due to a crappy shower head. I finally installed the shower head that I got at Goodwill a few years ago (new in package for $5.98!). Bliss...

Frugal Luxuries: Banana Hook

We go through a lot of bananas. Well, more specifically, Max goes through a lot of bananas. I didn't like having them laying on the counter, and having a big fruit bowl out just for bananas seemed silly (apples are kept in the cupboard). I thought of getting a banana hook, something like this, but that would be yet one more thing on the counter top.

So, my simple, slap the forehead, that was easy, solution? Install a hardware hook under the cabinet. Obviously! And it costs a quarter of the the price of the one from the container store. Now when we tell Max that we're out of bananas, he can see for himself that we're telling the truth. And, since he's such a smarty-pants, he can count exactly how many bananas we have left. :)

I Was Productive

Hubby picks on me that when I take a vacation I don't do what "normal" people do - which seems to consist of wearing pj's/sweats all day and watching a lot of daytime TV. I countered that I do, in fact, stay in my pj's/sweats all day. I just seldom turn on the TV.

Instead, I:

• Paint the living room
• Wire a light fixture
• Install a new shower head
• Mend clothes
• Do a bunch of clean-out-the-freezer cooking
• Wash enormous amounts of laundry
• Finish random projects that I've been putting off forever... I made a deal with myself that I wouldn't just shove the project to the side to clear room on the counter - I'd finish it!

All while chillin with Max, who is in the midst of potty training. He was so good, he didn't touch the paint once! I can't say the same for the cats, but you can't win them all. lol